The Captive Creator
by demi'sXlastXdesire
Summary: Demi is not your average girl. She's got secrets of her own, and as the key to many futures, she must master 'gifts'. As worlds collide, her life is upset by two brothers, and as she tries to make amends with them, things go out of control.
1. Chapter 1: Meeting

"…N-no. No, dammit! I can't accept this! You mean to tell me… That you have been the cause of all of this tragedy?" His voice shaking with rage, Edward's golden eyes bore into mine, demanding an explanation.

I dropped my gaze, my slim gloved hands gripping each other in my lap. "I am sorry. Although I can't control it… I know I am responsible. I understand if you absolutely hate me, if you never want to see me ever again. That's fine. I can walk away right now." The chair that I was sitting in made a quiet screech as I stood up, grinding its legs against the concrete. As I turned away, Edward grabbed my shoulder, the cold aura of his automail radiating through his gloves and my shirt.

"Do you know… what you have done?" He asked quietly, his head bowed. "Do you know the full extent of the pain and trouble that you have caused me? And Al, and Winry, and everyone else! I can't let you leave, not if you don't know what you have done. My arm and leg, his body, her parents! Do you know what you've done to us?" Yelling now, Edward pulled me up by the front of my thick black shirt, dragging my feet off of the ground.

"Oh, Ed! I'm so sorry. Winry… I am Winry." I closed my eyes, feeling the power tingling in my fingertips. With a flash of pure white light, my body changed, flowing like water from one shape to the next. One minute I was a tall, slim girl with long mahogany hair and mismatched eyes, the next I was a tan blonde girl in boots and a skirt.

Edward dropped me, the shock clear in his eyes. Even Alphonse leaned back and gasped. And me, well, I fell right on my butt.

"Dammit! It's Envy! Come on, Al, let's get him!" Edward said through gritted teeth, clapping his hands together. He transmuted his automail arm, drawing out that hand sword that I knew so well. Charging at me, the boys began to attack.

Oh, so they thought that I was Envy? Well, he did have the power to shape-shift, but Envy had left the state long ago, on a mission to find Greed. This was bad. In his anger, Ed could injure me before I had the chance to fully explain!

"No! Ed, Al, stop! It's me, it's me, I swear! I can prove it! Do you remember what you said to me, that day I tried to kill Scar?" I yelled franticly, my feet scrabbling against the ground as I tried to back away from the two of them. As he swung the handsword at my neck, I squeezed my eyes shut and said, "It's your hands. They aren't made for killing. They can only give life."

"No…" His arm inches from my throat, Edward stumbled back. I sighed with relief and opened my eyes. As Al reached out a hand to help me up, I morphed back into my real body, a pale girl with long, wavy red-brown hair. This was the body that I had been born in, but it had been altered so many times that I must have seemed like a freak.

"So, let me get this straight. You are a girl who has visions. When you write them down, they come true. You have published them as stories, and drawn them as comic books and manga. By coming here today, you tried to make amends with us, and explain what has happened. But you are also Winry, our childhood friend." Al summed it all up nicely, his voice echoing slightly in his empty armor.

I nodded. "Yeah. I think that I will leave now, and let you two decide if you will forgive me or not. If you do," I said, holding out a piece of paper with an address on it, "Come here." I turned and walked away, out of the street-side restaurant.

"But wait," Al called, "We don't know your name!"

"Just ask for Demi, they will know what to do." I said over my shoulder, one hand raised to wave goodbye.


	2. Chapter 2: Identity

"I still can't believe that we are doing this, Al! I mean, it is her fault that we-" Edward complained for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Brother, you heard what she said. She can't even control those visions. It's not her fault that they come true! Besides, I think that girl wasn't telling us the whole story." Alphonse replied. The brothers came to a stop outside of a large house at the top of a hill a few miles from the city. With its clean white walls and its tall, square shape, it looked a bit like the house that the brothers had grown up in. But that was a long time ago; all that remained of their home was ashes and dirt. Not even the huge oak trees that shaded the roof in the summer were left untouched by the raging fire the boys had set when they left their hometown.

His hand making a harsh clang as he knocked on the wooden door, Edward turned to Al. "Well, if she doesn't tell us everything this time, I'm gunna beat the information out of her!"

A tall man with dark brown hair and greenish-yellow eyes opened the door slowly. "Ah, you must be the Elric brothers. I recognize you from my sister's art. I take it she has talked to you? Well? How did it go?" He gazed at the boys with amused curiosity, and then smiled. "Never mind, why don't you come in; you are just in time for dinner. Iggy made stew! By the way, I am Alexander," He said happily.

Edward and Alphonse slowly followed the man into the house. Inside, there was a large, open living room with several couches and a big fireplace. Alex led them through a doorway and into a warm, cheery kitchen. The rich smells of vegetables and beef wafted around the room, and about a dozen people waited eagerly at the table in the corner and around the countertops.

"It's ready," said a bored looking boy by the stove. Spoon in hand, he began serving up the fragrant dish into bowls along the counter. One by one, he deposited them into the hands of the waiting people.

"Thanks, Ig," I said, standing up and ruffling his strawberry blonde hair. "I don't know what I would do without you and your mad cooking skills. However," I handed my bowl to Edward. "I don't think that I will eat today."

"Oh, that just figures. You make me, the poor blind boy, slave around in the kitchen, and then refuse to eat the results of my hard laboring." Crossing his arms, Iggy propped his feet up on the table and glowered.

"Iggy!" A dark-skinned girl leaning against the doors of the pantry chided him with her mouth half full. "You know that she eats almost as little as Al! Besides, if Demi was the one in charge of our meals, we would all die of food poisoning."

"Wait, you know about my body?" Alphonse said in surprise. All of the eyes in the room swiveled to focus on him, and he rubbed his armored head in embarrassment at being the center of attention.

"I don't appreciate that jab at my cooking, Nudge," I grumpily said, giving her a faux glare. Then I turned to Alphonse and patted him on the head like I did Iggy. "I know that it must seem really creepy, seeing as you have never met us before, but we all know everything about you." I smiled kindly at him; I knew that Alphonse needed motherly love.

"Yeah! We have all read what Demi has written!" An angelic looking boy piped up from the table.

"I haven't. I don't know a thing about any of her stories," said a disgruntled looking teenager dressed all in white from his seat under the table with a train set.

"That's because all you care about are you stupid toys, you little twit!" A scarred man rebutted, annoyance on his face.

Trying to settle our little family squabbles, I clapped my hands together and said cheerily, "Let's all introduce ourselves. I am Demi, the guy who brought you in is Alex, my younger twin brother. Iggy is our fantastic blind cook, and he loves to make bombs with Gazzy, that cute little angel over there. Nudge is my best girlfriend slash sister, and we are all from my first story, Maximum Ride. The guy under the table is Near, the blonde with the wicked awesome scar in Mello, Matt, Mello's best friend, is the dude in the vest, and L slash Ryuzaki is in the living room, eating cake. They are all from Death Note. If you remember the worldwide Kira phenomenon, these are the people who solved the crimes. Zero is currently hiding upstairs like the depressed little vampire that he is, and he is from Vampire Knight, my second book." I paused and took a deep breath.

"Don't forget our special talents, Demi." Turning to the Edward and Alphonse, Nudge gazed at them with calm, dark eyes. "Everyone from Maximum Ride was subject to dangerous experiments by the government. In secret, seven children had bird DNA grafted into them at a young age. We are all only ninety-eight percent human. And here's the best part," she said, leaning forward with a triumphant grin on her pretty face, "We can fly."

"Wait… What?" Golden eyes wide, Edward looked from Nudge to me then back again in shock.

"Yeah. We have birdie wings!" Gazzy said, standing up in his chair excitedly. I gave him a you-sit-your-butt-right-back-down-mister look and sighed. This explanation would take a while, I could just tell.

"So you are chimeras?" Alphonse asked, looking at us sadly. I could here the pity in his voice.

"Well, yes and no. You see, we aren't alchemic chimeras made from alchemy. We were created biologically, with avian DNA. We were born with wings, light, hollow bones, and stronger hearts and lungs. Of course, as I took part in Vampire Knight, as the pureblood girl Yuki, I am only around seventy percent human. The rest is avian and vampire." I was used to explaining all of this; I had told all of the Death Note and Vampire Knight people. This was maybe the sixth time I had told my tale.

"Everyone here has accepted me for who I am. They have all forgiven me for what I have done, intentionally or not. We all live together in one happy family, more or less. Now I must ask you," I said calmly, looking from Alphonse to Edward, trying to gauge their emotions. Edward looked shocked and a bit confused, but with Alphonse it was hard to tell. "Will you do the same? Can you? I understand if you can't, but you don't know what it would mean to me if you did. Besides," I turned to leave, heading up to my room on the second floor. "I can help you get your bodies back."


	3. Chapter 3: Zero

"Zero?" On the way up to my room, I peaked into Zero's dark room, seeing if I could coax him down to dinner. "Zero, are you up?" I couldn't see him anywhere; his room was dim and cluttered.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said softly from the shadows near his bed. I walked over and sat known next to him on the rumpled sheets. Zero lay sprawled out on his bed, one arm thrown over his eyes and his silvery hair messy. I leaned by back against his warm stomach.

"You should come down to dinner, Zero. I don't think that you should stay up here in the dark all the time. It probably isn't healthy, and besides… I miss you." I said in a soft, calm voice.

"Demi, you're stupid. I am fine up here. I don't want any dinner, and I really don't want any company right now. If you miss me, that's your problem." Zero said, annoyed.

I stood up angrily. "Jeez, Zero, I was only looking out for you! Why do you have to be so harsh? The hurt was clear in my tone, and I hoped he knew how much his words stung. That damn insensitive idiot! I stomped up to my room, fuming.

My room was neither big nor small; it held a desk, a chair, and my bed. Two of the walls had large bookcase built in, and a door opened out onto the only balcony in the house. I think that my favorite place in the building was my four-post bed. It was massive, with gauzy curtains on all sides. Inside, it looked like a nest. The many blankets formed a circle, which had an indent where I curled up at night. Mixed in with the sheets and pillows were most of my nightclothes, books, papers, my medication, and various other objects. I wasn't messy- no, the rest of the room was spotless- I just liked to sleep with my stuff.

I plopped down in the chair at my desk, the warm leather conforming to my aching back. Sighing, I pulled out a sheet of blank paper and began to draw a chibi. My mind was sinking and spiraling rapidly around my memories and thoughts. Zero had really saddened me; our relationship had always been uneven and rocky, but it seemed like nowadays he just stayed up in his room all the time. When we were in high school, he had always been antisocial and never wanted to share his feelings. Now, it felt like he was pushing me away more then ever. Every time I got close…. He would just shove me to the side, or piss me off enough to not care about him for a while. I really did worry about Zero, even though he always hurt me.

But the bigger problem was currently eating dinner in the kitchen. I heaved another sigh, wondering how I could convince the Elric brothers to trust and forgive me. I knew that even though I couldn't control the visions that tormented me and everyone who I held dear, I was at least indirectly responsible for the pain and suffering those boys had been through. As I finished shading the long, spiky hair on the chibi, I contemplated some way to get their sympathy.


	4. Chapter 4: Wings

It was some time after seven o'clock when I heard a knock on my door. I was aimlessly drawing Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist, having long since given up on Plan Elric; I was just going to wing it.

"Come in," I called, spinning my chair around to face the door. With a clank, Alphonse walked into my bedroom, looking curious and a little sad. A tired-looking Edward, who looked at me warily, followed him. Trying to maintain a poker face, I gazed levelly at the two of them.

"Um… We, uh-" Alphonse began.

"We want to stay here. We haven't forgiven you, and we would like to learn more about you and how you can help us before we make any decisions." Edward interrupted, crossing his arms. I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Should I agree? Was I certain that I could help them?

There was only one answer. I opened my eyes and stared boldly into Edward's. "Alright. That sounds reasonable. I can begin an in-depth description now, if you would like. You look a little tired-"

"I'm fine." He said, glaring. "Tell us now." Internally, I rolled my eyes at his bossy actions, but on the outside I grinned, tucking my legs beneath me in the leather chair.

"I have had the visions for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I lived in a laboratory known as the School; I had been created by labcoats who kept me and the others in dog crates and tested us every day. For example, I would have to run on a treadmill once a week until I collapsed while they had censors monitoring my heart rate, breathing, oxygen levels, blood sugar, and a bunch of other things. If I stopped running, they would poke me with a pole that electrocuted me until I got up, unless I could no longer stand. They made us run mazes, solve puzzles, and be physically examined daily. We were their lab rats.

"At night, I would have the visions. Most of them were about the flock and me; the story called Maximum Ride. Later, they were about Vampire Knight. They were painful and scary, and if I didn't write down what I saw, I felt like I was on fire. Often, I would blindly bite my fingers until I bled and write in my own blood. It was horrible.

"After we escaped, I began to write my visions down properly, and used the money I got after publishing them to help my flock and family. When I was fifteen, I left the others and lived at Cross Academy. Within a year, I was turned into a pureblood vampire by some genetic quirk and my vampire brother. Still, the visions continued, this time about Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist. I have no way of stopping them; if I try to resist, it is too painful to bear."

"What was the result of your time at the School, or whatever it is? What did they do besides test you?" Edward asked, leaning forward.

I grimaced; my throat was dry from talking, and this was a touchy subject. Besides, it was easier to show them then tell them. I stood up and turned around, pulling off my black shirt. Underneath it, I was wearing a camisole with two slashes in the back, running from my shoulder blades to my midribs. Rolling my arms and shoulders, I extended my wings. They were big, almost twenty feet across, and I could absorb them into my body at will. I reached them out as far as they could go; my desk is in the upper right hand corner of the room, so my right wing could only go out a foot or so, but my left brushed my bed and still was not extended all the way. Black as night, with one row of golden feathers at the bottom, my wings could have been a fallen angel's.

"May I… May I touch them?" Alphonse asked, a note of awe in his childish voice.

"Al, no-" Edward began, putting his arm out to stop Alphonse from walking towards me.

"No, Ed, it's alright. He can touch them." I said, looking over my shoulder at the boys.

The lightest of all touches brushed across the soft feathers near my shoulders as Alphonse stroked my wings. I held back a sigh of contentment and tried to keep as still as possible.

"They're… warm. And soft! Try it, Brother!" the boy said excitedly, running his fingers down my left wing. A second hand was placed on my feathers, and I heard slight intake of breath as Edward touched my wing.

Smiling slightly to myself, I said, "Of course they are warm, silly. There are parts of my body." Shifting slightly, I turned around and folded my wings, the curving flight feathers aligning themselves along my spine. Then, I walked over to the nearest bookshelf and pulled a DVD case down. I opened up my white Macintosh laptop and opened the disk's case and inserted it into the computer. With a whirr, the machine began to play the DVD. As the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood logo flashed on the screen, I turned to the brothers.

"This is the brotherhood anime. It is the one that is more closely related to the original writing, and I think that you should watch it. You'd be surprised at how accurate it is, I'm sure." I said to them as I headed for the door after grabbing a set of clothes from my bed. Pausing in the doorway, I turned and faced them.

"I'm going to shower. We'll talk more when I get back."


	5. Chapter 5: Affections

I sighed as the warm water washed over me. Could Edward and Alphonse forgive me? I wondered if there was any reason to; I was such a freak, who would?

Hopefully, Edward wouldn't get too upset at me for showing the anime; it did show some scenes that I'm sure would touch up on some painful memories, such as the failed human transmutation.

I ran my fingers through my soapy hair and grimaced as they tugged on some knots. My hair was absolutely awful to care for; it was long and thick, hanging in a shimmering curtain down to my waist. It was a vampire thing- most vampires' hair grew exceedingly quickly. The problem was, it knotted easily, especially when I was flying. As I rinsed out my shampoo, I wondered if it would be simpler just to hack it all off.

After I got out of the shower, I got dressed in the bathroom. Brushing my hair in front of the mirror, I yawned. The house was nearly silent as I tiptoed back to my room. I slowly opened my door and snuck into the room.

His armor clanking, Alphonse turned to look at me. He was seated on the floor next to Edward in front of the computer, watching the screen.

"Brother fell asleep," He said forlornly.

I flipped on the light on my desk and paused the anime, smiling to myself. "Al, I'm going to take your brother to the guest room, alright? Do you want to sleep with him or by yourself?" I asked. I put one arm under Edward's knees and the other supporting his shoulders and picked him up, my arms easily carrying his weight.

"I would like to be with Ed," Alphonse said, standing up with a clank.

I walked out of my room with Edward in my arms and Alphonse trailing behind me, and I went down the hall to one of the guest rooms. After carefully setting Edward down, I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots and coat, and then tucked the warm downy blankets around him. Then I pulled off the band that kept his golden hair in its braid, and gently finger-combed it out until it was smooth.

"You really like him, don't you?" Alphonse asked from behind me. I jumped; I had all but forgotten that he was there because he was so quiet.

"I like all of you. You really can't understand what it means to me that you decided to stay, even if you haven't forgiven me. I feel like the people whose lives I have touched are a cross between my children and my best friends." I said, sadness on my face. I really didn't think that the brothers would forgive me like the others had.

"That isn't what I meant and you know it." he said, crossing his arm, his armor clinking.

"It's kinda complicated, Al. I really don't know how to explain it," I said with a sigh, standing up and walking to the door. As I walked past him, I patted Alphonse's head and murmured, "Goodnight."


	6. Chapter 6: Shock and Hurt

I uncurled myself from my sleeping position and sat up in bed. My still-warm blankets were arranged in the usual nest, and my bed hangings were pulled around the bed, making a dark, cozy cave. Squinting as I pulled back the curtains and stepped into the morning light streaming through the windows, I decided to go to the kitchen and get my breakfast.

Tiptoeing down the stairs because the kids liked to sleep late, I walked into the kitchen and opened up the big, silver fridge by the back wall. Inside, there was yogurt, milk, juice, eggs, vegetables, raw beef, pork, and chicken, bacon, and an assortment of leftovers, including last night's stew. However, what I wanted was all the way in the back on the top shelf; crimson liquid in small glasses about the size of those cold coffee bottles that you can buy from Starbucks. Popping the lid on one, I leaned against the counter and gulped most of the contents down. The blood had its usual effect on me; I felt my fangs descend from behind my upper canine teeth and a warm feeling spread in the pit of my stomach. I grabbed another bottle from the fridge after I finished the first one and drank most of that, too. Reaching for a third, I-

"What it that?"

I jumped slightly and whirled around. "Oh, Edward, Al, I didn't here you come in-" I began hastily, covering my fangs with one hand and nervously tugging down the hem of my nightgown with the other.

"I said, 'what the hell is that?'" Edward said, angrily putting his hands on his hips. Alphonse stood behind him, staring at me in a shocked manner. I didn't want to scare him or freak him out; that's why I covered my mouth.

"Uh… It's um-"

"Is that blood? Why are you covering your mouth?" Alphonse asked in a small, scared child-esque voice.

I sighed; I guess there was no way around this. "I am a vampire. If I don't have blood, I will die. I'm sorry if it upsets you, but it's who I am." I said quietly, gazing at Edward with level eyes.

"You're telling me that you harm people… you take their lifeblood… for food? What the hell is wrong with you, you freak?" He yelled, outraged.

"I didn't ask to be this way!" I shrieked, running from the kitchen and up the stairs. My eyes brimmed with tears as I leapt onto my bed, yanking the hangings shut and burrowing into my nest of blankets and clothes.

My fangs were slowly receding, and now my jaw ached slightly. But the worst pain was the one in my heart; a hot, stabbing hurt. Why did he say that? I didn't ask for this, I didn't choose who I had become. Now I had probably ruined any chance of those boys ever trusting me.

I sat up and dried my eyes on the hem of my cotton nightgown. Kicking the curtains open, I jumped out of the bed and landed by my closet. I yanked open the doors and dug through my clothes. After pulling out a pair of jeans and a black tank-top, I was about to open the window when I heard a hesitant knock on the door.

"What the hell do you-" I snarled, wrenching it open. "Oh, Alphonse. How nice to see you. Come to ogle at the freak?" I said bitterly.

"No, Demi, I don't think you're a freak! I'm sorry for what Brother said, he didn't mean it-" Alphonse began, putting his hands in the air in surrender.

"The hell he didn't mean it. He thinks I'm a monster! I could see it in his eyes." I said angrily.

Alphonse timidly stepped towards me, his arms slightly outstretched. "Demi, calm down! He didn't-"

"Don't lie to me. He hates me now, I can tell! He thinks I kill people!" I wailed, my eyes brimming with tears.

"But Demi, he didn't mean it. And I think that you aren't a freak! It's ok, it's ok," the boy said soothingly, gently hugging me. I wrapped my arms around him, sobbing. He was such a sweet child; it made me cry even harder. Alphonse stroked my hair and murmured to me comfortingly, trying to help.

At last, I stepped out of his arms. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I said "It's not ok, Al. Even if you don't think I'm a freak, Ed and a thousand other people do. And he hates me now." I slammed the door to my balcony open, and climbed up onto the railing.

"Demi, no-" I heard Alphonse yell behind me.

I jumped.


	7. Chapter 7: Flight

With a sigh, I snapped my wings open and pushed down, rising high into the air and sailing away from the house. Oops; I think Alphonse believes that I just committed suicide. With each wing beat I gained more altitude and finally decided to just fly in large loops about a mile above the house. When I was upset as a teenager, I would just take off running and fly to the tallest tree and sulk. Of course, that was back when Fang would come and follow me to calm me down. This time, however, Fang had been gone for over two years, and I knew nobody would come after me. The realization was bittersweet; I wanted my time and space to think, but I wished that someone would care enough to comfort me.

The warmth of the morning sun slowly seeped into my wings as I slowly climbed higher and higher. Soon, I knew I would just be a speck in the sky form the perspective of anyone on the ground. Sighing again, I pondered what to do with the Elrics.

Everyone currently living in the house already knew that I was a vampire, and they all still accepted me for it. They had seen me drink blood, knew the way my normally chocolate-colored eyes would glow scarlet, and had seen the sharpness of my fangs. They still lived with me and were my family. If the brothers hadn't seen it the way that they had, would Edward have had less of a reaction? I didn't know the answer to this.

I saw a blur of white and brown racing towards me. Alex had come to check on me, it seemed. Had he seen me take off from the kitchen window? My twin brother had beautiful angel wings: they looked exactly like mine, but the colors were swapped. Where I had black wings with the bottom row of feathers gold, he had pure white and silver. He was the angel, and I was the demon. At times, I truly believed this.

"Hey, sis. Al came running sown the stairs and into the kitchen yelling that you had jumped off of the balcony. You really scared the kid. Are you ok?" he asked, flying alongside me. The wind ruffled his brown hair and tugged at his clothes: a pair of jeans and a shirt with slits down the back.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, glancing away from him.

"Do I look stupid to you, Demi? You're crying." Alex said in a voice that I could barely hear over the wind. "Alphonse said that Edward saw you drinking blood and freaked out. He said-"

"Yeah, I know what he said, Alex. You don't have to remind me." I said bitterly, trying to brush back the hair that was wildly flapping around my head in the breeze. "He's probably right, you know."

"Demi, stop. Don't say that; it isn't true and you know it!" Alex said sweetly, looking at me with concern.

"Brother, I really don't know anything anymore. I don't know what to do with the Elrics, I don't know what to do with my visions, I don't-"

Alex surprised me by leaping into my arms, hugging me tightly like he used to when we were kids. "Idiot, don't do that!" I said in mock annoyance; he was crushing my wings, and we were both falling rapidly downward, but I wasn't really mad. Alex was just such an adorable little twin brother. He was so sweet and caring that he kinda reminded me of Alphonse. Smiling, I squeezed him for a second, and then we peeled away from each other moments before we would've hit the ground and gone splat.

Grimacing as the sudden stop wrenched my wings, I flapped rapidly and settled on the thick grass. My feet sank into the lush plants, and I plopped down with a sigh. Folding my hands back under my head, I gazed up at the sun, feeling its warmth paint my skin and clothes. Alex fluttered down like a dove and lay down beside me, mimicking my pose.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

I twisted back, trying to see who was behind me. It was Alphonse, accompanied by a sullen looking Edward. The younger brother gave his sibling a nudge with his elbow, and the blonde stepped forward.

"Demi, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I shouldn't have done it; you are not a freak or a monster. I am sorry." he said stiffly, slight anger in his golden eyes.

I frowned slightly, but forced some happiness into my voice. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that was... abrupt. I'm sorry if I scared you or something." I said, leaning back down into the grass.

"You didn't scare me." Edward said flatly, his voice hard. "I just didn't expect that."

I sighed, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Ed. Really." I said with my eyes closed. Laughing, I murmured "Thanks, Alphonse." because really, there was no way in hell that Ed would apologize.

I was still laughing as a huge shadow crossed my face. My eyes shot open and I was on my feet in an instant, an old reflex from my days as a runaway. Above me, a huge flock of birds was spiraling out of the sky, headed straight for the house.

"Demi…" Alex said in a fearful voice, waiting for my verdict.

"Run. Take the others and run." I said in a voice that was so low, I could barely hear myself.

Birds didn't carry guns.


	8. Chapter 8: Attack

My mind was racing as Alex and I sprang into action. The whitecoats hadn't sent anyone after us in years, and they had never, ever, sent bird people like us. Maybe they thought that we would be more evenly matched then our old hunters, the Erasers, Fly-Boys, and M-Geeks. Whatever they thought, they were wrong. I was a seventeen-year-old who had been training to fight almost her entire life. On top of that, I was a vampire, with extra speed, strength, and reflexes, and I was an alchemist.

As my brother raced for the house, dragging Edward along with him, I stood alone in the yard and measured up my opponents. There were maybe fifty flyin' hybrids, and each was armed with a gun and they were all decked out in camo. Within seconds, they had surrounded me.

Grinning my itching-for-a-fight smile, I watched as the guys formed a circle around me. I clapped my hands together and pressed them to the soft ground, causing bright flashes of blue electricity to spark through the air. When the transmutation was complete, I grabbed the weapon that I had created; a large, shiny sword.

As the nearest man cocked his gun at me, I laughed and leapt over him, slashing through his green shirt and neck. Dancing behind another fighter, I stabbed his wrist before spinning away to the next one. It was almost too easy, and I grinned as I disarmed them.

I had gotten through about half of them when I saw him; a pale looking teenager with black hair over one side of his face, and midnight blue-black wings. His hands shook slightly as he pointed his gun at my face, and I froze.

"…Fang?"

It couldn't be! There was no way that he was with the whitecoats. Hell, I thought that he was dead. Grimacing, I pointed my sword at his neck and prepared to remove him from my list of people endangering my family, because that's what these guys were- a threat.

I gasped slightly as I felt my arms being jerked behind me. The blade was wrenched from my grasp, and I growled and twisted around to glare at the burly man who had caught me. Fang had done his job here, I supposed. He had slowed me down enough to be snatched. I kicked behind me with all of my strength, and I felt the man stumble back a few feet, but it wasn't enough to get free, although I heard something shatter. A pair of manacles were tightened around my wrists, and I felt a sharp jab in my bare arm. A needle!

Within a minute, my vision began to grey, and I felt a tingling sensation running dancing up and down my limbs. Swaying, I tottered to the ground, landing with my head facing the house. My last sight was of Iggy and Nudge restraining my screaming brother as he tried to run out to help me, and then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9: Fear

"No! Demi, damn it, no! No, COME BACK!" Alex screamed from the front door. He struggled against the girl and the cook, trying to reach her. "Onee-san! SISTER! No!"

I looked away and turned to Alphonse, who was gazing at Alex with something like empathy and sorrow. The guys that Demi was fighting took of into the air, carrying her limp body with them. The dead littered the ground, and her sword lay in the earth, hilt pointed to the vast blue sky.

Alphonse slowly walked to Alex, who was now sitting on the floor with his legs tucked up to his chest and his head pressed against his knees. With a clank, my little brother sat by hers, and gently put his arms around him. The Alex looked up in surprise, tears glittering in his greenish eyes. "My sister… they took her…" he said sadly, curling his arms around Alphonse. Although Alex looked about eighteen, it was clear that he and Demi were very close, and he must rely on her a lot. Right now, he looked like a lost child as Al comforted him.

Everyone in Demi's little 'family' was gathered in the kitchen, and as I looked from face to face, I saw the same expressions on their faces; a grim, determined look that showed great sadness. The emotions in their eyes… it almost reminded me of Scar.

Iggy, the blonde cook, silently left the doorway and walked to the fridge, rummaging around inside of it with surprising accuracy. He pulled out the big glass Tupperware filled with last night's delicious stew and began dishing out it into bowls, which he microwaved until the kitchen was filled with its warm, hearty aroma.

Meanwhile, Nudge and Alphonse were calming Alex down, and the scar-faced Mello snagged the first hot bowls of stew and brought them upstairs, one probably for the other vampire, who I had yet to see, The pale child dressed all in white cleared off the empty red-stained glass bottles on the counter, the leftovers from Demi's meal, and brought them outside.

It seemed like they were all ignoring for her absence; I'm sure that she would have been doing these chores, and they knew it. I stood awkwardly to the side, unsure what to do, while Nudge gave Alex a bowl of stew, and then thrust another one into my hands. I gulped it down rather mechanically, my head still slightly reeling from the attack. What the hell had happened? Why had they let her fight alone? It seemed that Nudge and Iggy had a few similar questions.

"What happened? I've never seen her falter like that," she said.

"Well, I've never seen her at all." Iggy said sarcastically, frowning. "Tell me what happened."

Nudge rolled her eyes at his cynicism, but she still looked worried and tense. "At first, she seemed fine. After Demi made a sword, she took out half of them in her usual way. But for some reason, she just stopped. One of them got her arms behind her back, and then they must have given her a shot of something, because she collapsed. They just took her."

"You let them take her," I said, striding forward. "I really don't understand why you would just let her fight them all on her own. If you had all helped, she would still be here!" I glared at them.

"She knows that when they come the usually only want one of us. Besides, Demi is the best fighter among us; that's why she's the leader. She is also the strongest, and can withstand the whitecoat's antics longer then any of us can." Nudge said defensively, narrowing her eyes at me.

"That's no excuse, you are just hiding behind her when she goes out and riskes her life defending you!"

"It doesn't matter, we'll get her back!" Iggy exclaimed, slamming his pale fist on the table.

"And just how are you going to do that? You just lost your best fighter, and you have no idea where they took her!" I said angrily, crossing my arms.

Nudge closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. We'll find her."


End file.
